Air Liquide plans to invest up to US$850 million to build, own and operate four as well as related infrastructure in the framework of a long-term binding agreement with ExxonMobil for its planned low-carbon hydrogen project in Baytown, TX.

This will enable Air Liquide to increase its oxygen production capacity by 50% in Texas. Pending final investment decision, this major project would mark the largest industrial investment in the history of the Air Liquide Group.

This new Air Liquide Baytown low-carbon platform would serve primarily ExxonMobil with vast amounts of low-carbon oxygen and nitrogen, as well as significant volumes of argon and rare gases such as krypton and xenon for Air Liquide’s other customers. Due to low carbon electricity supply and Air Liquide’s innovative solution, the CO₂ footprint of oxygen production will be reduced by two-thirds. In line with Air Liquide’s Advance strategic plan, this decarbonization project will also contribute to enhancing the Group’s Industrial Merchant footprint in the US.

Triggered by ExxonMobil’s enormous need for oxygen at their low-carbon hydrogen project in Baytown, TX, Air Liquide has been selected to establish a low-carbon industrial gas platform. Pending the project’s final investment decision, Air Liquide would build, own and operate four new Large Modular Air (LMA) separation units at ExxonMobil’s site in Baytown, in order to produce and supply:

• a record volume of 9,000 metric tons per day of oxygen for the production of low-carbon hydrogen; and

• up to 6,500 metric tons per day of nitrogen to support the synthesis of low-carbon hydrogen into low-carbon ammonia as a source of low-carbon energy for the export market.

The agreement also enables leveraging on Air Liquide’s existing pipeline infrastructure to foster the development of low-carbon hydrogen.

In addition, due to large volumes, the LMA units will also produce high amounts of argon, as well as krypton and xenon, enabling the Group to strengthen its offering to customers in the rare gases market.

In the process, air is cooled to frigid -297°F (-183°C) and liquefied. Air separators then separate argon and nitrogen gases from the liquid oxygen. Air Liquide uses asymmetric hollow fibers in its membrane technology. These fibers have a core optimized for mechanical strength and a sheath optimized for gas separation.

A 12-inch module contains 0.5-1.0 million fibers, which laid end-to-end, would stretch for 750 miles. Membrane modules may contain more than 1 million individual hollow fibers that are formed in cross flow and counter flow designs, allowing for flexibility in meeting all pressure drop and performance constraints. Bundles are designed with high performance fibers to allow operations at elevated temperatures and extreme pressures. This allows for higher membrane productivity, fewer membranes and lower system CAPEX.

These LMA plants provide a step-change both in terms of production output and energy consumption optimization, as they use 25% less electricity to make each tonne of oxygen. In addition, these LMA plants are planned to be primarily powered by renewable and low-carbon electricity, further reducing the carbon footprint of the project.

The investment decision for Air Liquide’s Baytown Low Carbon Platform will be linked to the development of ExxonMobil’s low-carbon hydrogen project which is subject to supportive government policy, necessary regulatory permits and market conditions. ExxonMobil’s project is expected to capture and permanently store 7 million tons of CO₂ per year.